Had to chime in on this one. Although the Captain may be viewed as spouting sour grapes at the Lakers on the statue (IMO he is correct), he is definitely correct on Pip's asinine assertion about LBJ being the greatest. Too many comparisons are based on what I call the ESPN era of sports in which sports can be viewed 24-7. ESPN and the media created the King James persona and of course he bought into it. Players from yesteryear are being passed up almost like they did not exist and that is a shame. They are players in the league who should not be - Jeff Foster, our own Luke, and even one who made it to this year's Finals B. Haywood - and he pointed out that fact by saying 8 teams vs the 30 today, which means U had to be the best of the best. Maybe the Heat will get their ring (collusion) but that will not make him the greatest. His stats do not even compare to Jordan (and man I still have some bitter feelings on him beating my Lakers for his 1st championship so it is obvious I am not a MJ fan but respect his accomplishments). As for the comment about Jabbar being a female, how would U feel if U are the greatest scorer in the game and not be immortalized outside your home stadium - would U be quiet? Very doubtful. And to the guy who asserts that MJ could not check LBJ - think again - LBJ would give up and quit like he did last year vs the Celtics thus the reason for joining forces with Wade to form a super team. The main difference between MJ and LBJ is competitive nature, for now at least, not physical attributes. LBJ's competitive fire does not even compare to our own KB 24. If jumping out the gym is a quality deemed necessary for the Hall, Vince Carter and Harold Miner would be a shoo-in and we all know that is not the case. The guys from back in the day played with their heads probably due to going to college for 4 years (there's a thought). In closing, Pippen to me has always been the Ultimate Robin, not Batman, and should have not made the 50 greatest for when he had his shot during MJ's sabbatical, he failed miserably and even threw a tantrum.

In a nearly two-week span, former Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went from questioning the Lakers' loyalty to questioning Scottie Pippen's claim that LeBron James "may be the greatest player to ever play." After arguing that the Lakers' failure to honor him with a statue serves as an example...

Let's see - it has been 36 hours since the Brown hiring announcement. Plashcke, the leader of the sky is falling in Lakerland says it was a bad move and this is from a homer who did not think the team had the right stuff last year and the opposite this postseason. Medina, he hates the firing like he was in the boardroom and they vetoed his say in the matter. Limited pool of candidates to be considered. Adelman (no), JVG (like his defense philosophy but if he talks/coach like he talks on TV, no to him too), Sloan ( just as tired as PJ so let him rest). I like the Lakers' long run thinking for 3 major things let them down outside of #16 - lack of speed, defense and outside shooting or in other words two things that can be fixed with personnel changes and the other with coaching philosophy. Mitch and the rest have to look deeply at what is available and what they are willing to lose (free agency, trades) to attain speed and better outside shooting. They addressed the change in coaching philosophy form triangle to defense first. Again give Brown a chance. I am not worried (yet) because nothing else has changed but if the team is the exact same this time in November, we will be on here griping again.

In a move that will largely define the Lakers' future, the organization hired Coach Mike Brown and left Kobe Bryant out of the process. In a move the success of which will partly depend on the strength of that relationship, the two are already off on a bad foot. And in a move that's surprising ...

Since when does management have to consult with the top player on the team? That is what is wrong with today's sports - front office full of wusses. Essentially that is the inmates running the asylum. I like the saying players play, coaches coach, and management manages. This is not the LA Kobes, Magics or Kareems. All this ado and not one game has been played or coached. Give the man a chance. Not to say B Shaw would have been the choice but any time the players want a certain coach, it should be viewed with skepticism. Players' coaches have won how many championships (look at Rex Ryan and Wade Phillips for guidance). Although both have made it to the playoffs, they have as many rings as me - NONE. I do not know if Brown is a disciplinarian or someone who takes no guff off players but he must have a strong will/constitution to deal with inflated egos. Love Kobe and what he has done but again, this is the Lakers, not any individual player's team unless he wants to pay salaries.

In a move that will largely define the Lakers' future, the organization hired Coach Mike Brown and left Kobe Bryant out of the process. In a move the success of which will partly depend on the strength of that relationship, the two are already off on a bad foot. And in a move that's surprising ...